RECIPE: Apple And Fennel Brined Pork Chops
June 18, 2016
For all you pork lovers out there, have we got a dish for you. These Apple and Fennel Brined Pork Chops will take your meal to the next level. The perfect thing to serve for the holidays, or just whenever you have company over, the delicious marinade turns these babies into one of the most mouth watering dishes we've ever come across.
If you like pork, you owe it to yourself to try these!
- Prep: 25 mins
- Cook: 1 hr
-
25 mins
1 hr
1 hr 25 mins
Ingredients
For the Marinade
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 8-12 oz. bone-in pork rib chops
For the Pork Chops
3 strips of applewood smoked bacon, cut into ½" pieces
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
3 small parsnips, cleaned and halved lengthwise
1 small red onion cut into strips
1/2 small bulb fresh fennel, top removed, halved and thinly sliced
1/4 cup fresh cranberries, halved
2 cloves garlic, peeled, roughly chopped
4 large brussels sprouts, stems removed, separated into leaves
Directions
To Marinate
1Combine all ingredients except pork chops in a 2 qt. container. Stir, then let sit until salt dissolves.
2Stir again, then add pork chops, making sure liquid covers meat.
3Cover and refrigerate for 8-12 hours or overnight.
To Make The Pork Chops
1Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Transfer brined pork chops to a plate and dry with paper towels.
2In a large heavy bottomed skillet or frying pan, cook bacon over medium heat until browned.
3Transfer bacon to a small plate leaving remaining bacon grease in pan to brown pork chops.
4Meanwhile, combine curry powder, basil and red pepper flakes in a small dish. Sprinkle over pork chops.
5When bacon is removed from pan, add pork chops and parsnips to pan with bacon grease. Cook over medium heat for 4-5 minutes per side or until golden brown.
6Transfer chops to a plate and set aside.
7 Add apple cider to pan with parsnips and scrape up any brown bits with a spatula.
8Transfer parsnips and pan drippings to a small roasting pan or shallow baking dish. Add onions, fennel, and cranberries to pan with parsnips. Add any juices from pork and toss to coat.
9Roast in oven for 30 minutes.
10Remove from oven, place pork chops over vegetables, add brussels sprouts leaves and return to oven.
11Roast an additional 10-15 minutes or until vegetables are tender and pork is slightly firm to the touch and cooked to medium.
12 Remove from oven and serve topped with cooked bacon.
This recipe and photo originally appeared on Little Rusted Ladle.